Making Max Mad
by bkleanne
Summary: This is a collection of various one-shots that have nothing to do with each other. I've just added the fifth one and it's pretty long. It's a song fic. So enjoy! Oh and please review!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This was a spur of the moment thing that I thought of while reading the second MR. It's set at the time where the flock is at Anne's house. It's a one-shot about what made Max so crabby the day that they were first attacked by Ari and his gang walking home from school.**

**Quote that brought it all about:**

" **'I swear, that girl wouldn't be happy anywhere.' the new Max said, sounding disgusted.**

**' Let's giver her something to be unhappy about, ' Ari said, and hit the gas pedal."**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own Maximum Ride or anything besides Allan in this story. I only own Allan because I made him up. :P lol. James Patterson owns it all.**

We sat in a classroom full of stereotyped students who struggled to stay awake and concentrate on the drone of the teacher's speech. We being me(Max), Fang, and Iggy. I put my head in my hand and blinked to wake myself up. This was stupid. The teacher had the light off and he was showing us a slide show of pictures about something called the Holocaust. It looked a lot like the first ten years of my life actually, except of course no wings or wolf-men. Maybe instead of being the spawn-of-Satan, Jeb could be Hitler. Nah.

I felt someone jab me in the rib cage from behind and I jumped. A folded piece of paper slipped under my arm, onto my desk. I picked it up.

It read:

_Hi, I'm Allan._

I frowned. Fang sat behind me so this must be the guy behind him. I wrote back:

_Hi, I'm Max._

I gave the paper back to Fang, who read it, frowned, and passed it back to Allan. It didn't take long for Allan to write back and soon Fang jabbed me in the ribs again, causing me to jump slightly. It hurt actually. I unfolded the letter as the teacher turned away from me.

_Cool, will you sit with me at lunch? You can bring J.J._

I smiled. A guy was asking ME to sit with him. ME! I mean yeah, I had talked to Fang and Iggy and Gazzy just about every day of my life, but this was a normal guy, and he was talking to me, not looking at me as if I were a zoo exhibit, not running and screaming, but he actually wanted to spend time with me. My heart swelled and I wrote back.

_Yeah, and I'll bring J.J._

The letter was passed back and I heard Fang sigh a little too loudly, and poke me in the ribs again. Wait. Allan couldn't have written back that fast. I opened the crumpled, not neatly folded, piece of paper.

_Turn off your happy glow, you're gonna blind us all._

_-Fang_

I rolled my eyes and wrote back.

_Jerk_

I heard him snicker as he read the letter and then felt him pass Allan's letter back to me.

_Sweet. Ya know? Your hair looks like liquid gold in the glow of the projector. lol._

Can we say AWWWWWWWWWW. I mean how sweet is that? Fang never would've said anything like that...but then again, he hardly ever says anything, but you get my drift.

_Thanks, you're so sweet._

I knew Fang had read what we wrote as he passed it back because he and Iggy began making gagging noises and he punched me in the shoulder and put his crumpled letter in my jacket pocket.

_I'm never gonna let you live that down. "liquid gold in the glow of the projector." how lame._

I huffed and wrote him back.

_Like you could do any better, emo freak._

Fang buried his face in his sleeve to smother his laughter as he read what I wrote to him. Then passed me Allan's letter.

_Thanks. So, what's your favorite color?_

I'm sure I was red with embarrassment. I hadn't really ever thought of colors all that much, so I didn't really have a favorite. I wrote down the first color that came to mind.

_Ummm...black._

Fang passed the letter back as he stuck his letter in the hood of my jacket and threw the hood over my head. I glared at him and retrieved the letter from the floor.

_Of course I could do better. I'm better that nerd on my worst day. And I thought you hated the color black...you always complain when I wear black._

Yeah, right, of course he could do better. Nerd? He doesn't even know the guy! Hmm...I do hate the color black...but I only complain when he wears black because I don't like the fact that when he wears black it brings out his eyes and I can't concentrate on anything when he is around. But you didn't hear that from me.

The lights in the classroom flicked on and the teacher announced that we were having a pop quiz over the slide show we had just watched. Oops. I'm gonna fail this one.

Iggy raised his hand. I smirked, he hadn't been able to "watch" anything, though I knew he knew everything that had gone on, because he was super smart, and plus Fang had described all the pictures to him in between passing letters.

"Yes, Jeff?" The teacher asked.

"Um.. I can't really take a quiz over the movie, seeing that I couldn't see the movie." He responded.

"Well you should have opened your eyes and payed attention, Mr. Walker!" The teacher retorted. I snapped.

"He's blind!" I screeched. I felt Fang's hand on my back, between my wings. I was really defensive about people teasing Iggy, or making fun of him. The teacher looked at me confused, and then regained his composure. He was about to speak when his face went blank. His next sentence was monotone, like a robot.

"Sorry, no quiz. You can leave class early, and go have fun." That could have only been one person. Angel. She wouldn't have done this if something wasn't up, and so Fang, Iggy, and I, followed by the rest of the class and Allan took the teacher's words to heart and split.

We met Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge out in the hall and walked to the courtyard, Allan was totally forgotten.

"Max?" Angel queried. "Yeah?" I answered.

"You know that Allan guy you were passing notes with?"

"What about him?"

"He's an eraser, or at least he's connected with them somehow." I blanched visibly and sank to the ground under a tree. I knew it! I knew that it was too good to be true! No one can ever talk to me and be normal, I bet that even J.J and Anne are connected to the school somehow. I let out and 'Ugh' and buried my face in my arms, propped on my knees.


	2. small town day

**Hey! It's another one-shot! Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters except for the little boy. James Patterson owns the rest.**

**Small Town Day:**

We were in a nice, cozy, small cafe in some random town. Fang was typing 90 m/h on the laptop, Angel was at the next table over playing tea party with Nudge and Celeste. Iggy was messing with the small digital clock up at the counter, I think he was fixing it...I hope that's all he was doing to it. Gazzy was reading a comic book out of the cafe's book rack, Total was sleeping, and talking in his sleep, and I was watching all of the normal people walk around in the streets.

I'd been watching this one kid for quite a while. He was a small boy of about 5 or 6, had really curly, strawberry-blond hair and brown eyes. He seemed to be watching some birds (maybe it was an airplane, let's hope it's not super man! I'm kidding people) His freckles really stood out from his face as he stared into the clear blue sky. Every now and then he would run up to somebody and tug at their sleeve until they acknowledged him, then he would point into the sky and jump up and down excitedly. Each time he would run to someone different.

I sighed, I wish I had time to just sit and watch the sky. Angel giggled, which snapped me out of my moment of despondency.

"Having fun?" I asked her. She nodded vigorously her dirty, blond curls bouncing. I smiled at her. It was impossible not to smile when Angel smiled...well...unless you're mister I-only-talk-to-the-computer-because-it-doesn't-require-me-to-act-like-I'm-actually-human. Yes, I speak of the non-speaking Fang.

HE DOES IT TO MAKE **YOU** CURIOUS.

Really, Voice, get a life. Are you trying to say that he speaks in two word sentences to make ME curious about him?

Of course, direct question no answer.

"Max! I'm bored! Can we leave now?" Nudge whined. Hey at least she didn't say she was hungry.

"You'll have to talk to Fang about that. He's the one that wanted to stop." I told her. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Forget it then, he's still mad at me for deleting that one song off of the i-pod by accident."

Iggy sauntered over and began to massage Fang's shoulders. At this point I wondered whether Iggy really valued his life or not, because, judging by the way Fang's jaw tightened, Iggy better run. Fang was going to kill him if he didn't stop massaging his shoulders.

"Get off me." Fang growled, still not slowing his typing. Iggy didn't stop, he just smirked.

"Wat'cha typing bout?" He asked with a goofy grin on his face.

As long as he was just aggravation Fang and not really suicidal or anything I was fine with it. What? Fang had been pretty rude to me for the past few days.

"Iggy. Quit. It." Fang snarled. Iggy stopped, but then he hissed at Fang and poked him in the back of the neck, causing Fang to snap and knock the chair over as he jumped up to face Iggy.

The fallen chair had fallen on me, sitting on the windowsill, and so I shoved it back upright, and ended up hitting both Fang and Iggy with the chair in the process. "Knock it off you two." I glared at Fang with my eyes and Iggy with my voice.

Fang turned his head to meet my glare. The poor guy at the counter was wondering whether it would be better for him to stay out of this or come help the poor girl.

Poor girl my foot. Well actually, if anyone of the flock could take me out it would be Fang.

"I will ground you from that dumb computer." I said gravely. Then we couldn't help it, even Fang laughed at the thought of me grounding him.

It's not like it was a real threat or anything, I mean all the boy had to do was smile at me and I'd lose it.

The little boy from outside came over to me pulling on my jeans. "Miss! Miss! Come look!" I shrugged at the flock and motioned for them to follow me. We followed the little boy into the middle of the dirt street, where he turned and pointed at the top of the building we had just been in. There on top of the building was a group of about 10 Erasers. It didn't take long for them to notice us with the boy waving at them. The flock split quickly and I followed, they wouldn't hurt the boy if we weren't around him...at least I hoped that.

I was right, they followed us. Nudge pointed to an abandoned hotel up ahead and I nodded as Fang gave Iggy instructions. Obviously they had forgotten their earlier quarrel.

We all darted into different broken windows, and, with Erasers hot on each of our tails, began to weave in and out of the maze of halls and rooms.

I heard Nudge scream once when she nearly ran into an Eraser, but then saw her swing him around by his wing (something I had forbidden the flock to do to each other) and throw him through a door. And that people is why I love Nudge.

I crept around a corner and came face to face with Fang, who had been creeping in toward me. We both jumped back and yelled in surprise. I heard a noise behind me and glanced back into the hall I had just come from to see three erasers headed our way. Fang and I nodded and then burst around the corner into their group.

Back to back we faced them. I felt Fang loop his arms through mine and instantly knew what to do. He dropped forward, flipping me over his back, I snapped out my wings, took one eraser out with my foot on the way down and then with a great push off from the floor and a beat of my wings, I slammed the second eraser into, well actually through, the wall.

When I stood back up, Fang was holding his own against the last eraser. With a swift swipe of his feet, Fang knocked the Eraser to the floor, then did a spectacular back flip on top of him, snapping the eraser's shoulders out of socket. I think we should call him Fang-the-decapitator. Nah...we'll just stick with Fang.

After a quick high-five, and a smile that left me feeling warm and safe, Fang and I ran together through the maze of hallways, finally reaching the rest of the flock. The only injury was Nudge had broken a nail throwing that eraser through the wall.

And so laughing, and still pumped with adrenaline, we took off into the sky, decreasing into small dots on the horizon. I thought of the little boy and did an airborne back flip for him, just in case he was watching, wishing that he too could fly in the sky. Then I chuckled to myself as I remembered wishing I had time to just stare at the sky. That would never satisfy me, now that I've experienced the joy of flying. I could touch the sky, fly in it. Just looking at it would never again suffice.

**The End!**

**Hoped you liked it. It was just something I came up with and thought was cute.**

**Bkleanne**


	3. Chapter 3

**CAUSE AND EFFECT!**

Let's do some humorous cause and effect:

Cause: Nudge posts pictures of Max and Fang kissing on the blog.

Effect: Nudge must run for her life from Max.(Fang can't show emotion so he doesn't chase Nudge.)

Cause: Iggy blows up one of the girls' possessions.

Effect: The girls gang up on the guys and the guys are helpless.

Cause: Gazzy lets out a humongous "Gazzer bomb".

Effect: Itex explodes and the world is saved.(The flock have minor breathing problems for a while...but they're ok.)

Cause: Fang smiles at Max(A very rare thing...if you can get a picture of it, it would sell for millions!)

Effect: Max loses control, totally forgets where she is, runs into a tree, and then faints.

Cause: Max hides the laptop.

Effect: Fang goes into a coma from lack of typing-ness.

Cause: Nudge eats a lot of sugar.

Effect: No one goes to sleep that night and Nudge is ductaped to a tree, head covered in a pillowcase.(Which by the way doesn't stop her from talking.)

Cause: Total sings Fergalicious with different lyrics (i.e. Totalicious)

Effect: The flock is deaf for a whole month.

Cause: Max smells cookies.

Effect: The flock is subjected to a three-day-long search for said cookies to see if they are the "perfect cookies"

Cause: Angel controls Iggy and makes him belly dance...outfit and all.

Effect: The flock is scarred for life...they say it was worse than the school 0.o

Cause: Fang sees a red-headed girl and won't quit staring at her while the flock is all walking down the street in New York (we all know what he's doing.)

Effect: Said girl (poor thing) is murdered by Max and Fang is put into intensive care in the hospital for about seven months.

Cause: Jeb shows up.

Effect: Max takes him out and a few trees along with him...the flock cowers in fear at her seething rage.

Cause: Max gets mad at Iggy and so Iggy yells "I'm sorry! I'll make you the best cookies in the world!"

Effect: Iggy is, to this very day, still baking cookies, not yet able to make the best in the world, all the while chanting, "cookie...best...coo...best cookie...best...bananas...no cookies...must make...cookies."(poor Iggy)

Cause: Some ff writer writes a Figgy slash.

Effect: Fang and Iggy show up in their house and beat the mess out of them, and force them to watch barney for eternity. (What a sad sad sad fate.)


	4. Chapter 4

My feet touched the soft grass and I collapsed, absolutely exhausted. We had been flying for over two days straight.

Okay, so maybe I should explain a bit. See, we were in the mall right? And we were shopping for some new clothes, minding our own business, when out of nowhere flyboys come at us from every side. Now, usually we would have stayed and fought, but these flyboys were twice the size of the first, and much faster. So needless to say, we took off flying through one of the holes in the wall, new clothes, not yet paid for, and all.

We managed to out-fly the flyboys, but I'm sure they're still out there looking for us. They just don't know the meaning of give up, but then again, it's never been written into my dictionary either.

I looked around me to see my flock scattered all over the clearing. Angel and Gazzy were sprawled on the grass, gasping for air, sound asleep. How in the world they could sleep while gasping for air I have no idea, but they managed it. Nudge was on her back, legs and arms thrown wide and wings spread across the ground underneath her. Iggy was struggling out of some branches he had landed in. Fang was standing, his back to me, his wings hung limp, laying against the cool grass. He was staring up at the orange and red sky, thinking most likely. I stayed crouched, my wings extended. I was too tired to pull them in, and the cold wind felt good against the overheated feathers and skin.

"Anyone awake and strong enough to eat anything?" Iggy called, finally out of the branches, starting a fire. I smiled, only my pyro would ignore pain and lack of strength to start a fire for his family.

"Sounds good Iggy." Fang answered before I could. I grasped the hand that appeared before my face, and let Fang pull me to my feet. My wings were sore, and it hurt a bit to pull them in, but I managed it. "What are you cooking?" Fang asked. Iggy turned his head and smiled that creepy smile of his.

"Canned Ravioli and chocolate pop-tarts." I laughed, I don't know why I laughed. Probably because here we all were, safe and sound, and I hadn't laughed in a while. I couldn't stop myself. I laughed, falling to my knees, hot tears springing to my eyes. My sides felt like they were going to burst, but I just couldn't stop laughing. I wrapped my arms around myself.

"Is she okay?" Iggy asked, staring at me like I was a maniac. I sure did feel like one right then, cackling up a storm. My laughter started to subside and instead I gained the hiccups, which in turn caused more laughter, not only from me though. Now Iggy and Fang were laughing too.

I looked up. Wow, I thought, It's been so long since we've just sat down and laughed like this. I'd completely forgotten what it felt like to feel carefree, even if it doesn't last long.

Iggy nearly burnt the ravioli and pop-tarts, and Fang's smile was blinding by the time we finally quit laughing. Occasionally, one of us would giggle into our cans of ravioli and it would start a whole new fit of laughter. I swear I felt like I was floating on air, like I was there but not there. It didn't seem real, like I was watching all of this through a T.V. Screen.

That's when I woke up. I sat bolt upright, sweating. A groan escaped as I held a hand to my head and looked around. The flock lay around me in various positions, sleeping. We were in a dark, messy hotel room. Paint was chipping off of the cream colored walls and the moon filtered a depressing blue through the dirty window. A moth buzzed annoyingly at the window, its shadow dancing across the carpeted floor. A dream. It had all been a dream. All the laughing, the flying, the ravioli and pop-tarts. All of it. Even Fang's smile. I sighed and couldn't help but wonder if I'd ever see him laugh like that again. He used to, back when we lived with Jeb. Back when we lived without a care in the world. I suppose that would be my one wish, if wishing on stars actually worked, to see Fang laugh like that again, and not just in a dream.

A/N: Hope you like it. I just had the urge to write all of a sudden and this is what developed. So enjoy and review:)


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys...I know I haven't updated my other stories but I will soon. ( I hope). Anyway. I was listening to this song and the idea popped in my head and I couldn't ignore it. So here goes.**

In a turn of bad luck, well, worse luck than I usually have. I was knocked out during one of our more important battles and taken captive by Hell's hounds.

I woke up to gray walls, not white, so that was a comfort. Unless they were just remodeling, which I doubted. They'd rather use their money to torture young children and ruin bird kids' lives.

_Its good that you can keep your sense of humor throughout tough times, but you should be careful what you think in this room._ Ah, more confusing philosophy from my ever-present, brain-sharing voice. What was it supposed to mean though? Be careful what I think? What, like I wasn't supposed to think things like 'Jeb's a jerk and I hate him'? Nothing happened. I shrugged, oh well. Now, down to business.

_Voice, since you're being talkative today, why don't you tell me whether the rest of the flock was captured or not_. I waited, not really expecting a response. Even though I wasn't expecting a response I was still annoyed when I didn't get one after several moments of silence.

"AH! I just wish I had someone to talk to!" I yelled, searching for something to throw. I always felt better after throwing something. My search turned up a clothespin underneath my gray sheeted bunk, a lamp on the table beside my bed, half of a brick in another corner and a rat scurrying across my floor. Giving the rat a wide berth I got the brick and chunked it against the wall opposite me. The sound it made was not satisfying. It sounded as if it hit canvas.

Strange, I thought. Normally I'd be in a top security room, or a cage, or a top notch, too-small dog crate. I picked up the brick and threw it again. This time It hit metal. I started, what was up with these walls?

Cautiously I reached out and placed my hand flat on the wall. It felt like canvas, I pushed and it gave a bit. Running my hand horizontally down the wall I could feel a metal bar ever so often. I was in a cage, wrapped in canvas. What the heck?

I almost panicked, but caught myself.

No, calm down, think clearly. I shoved my hands in my pockets like Iggy used to do when he was trying to remember a recipe or a line from an instruction sheet on how to make a toaster into a bomb. Iggy, I missed his wise cracks. He and Gazzy always played jokes on everyone. I missed Gazzy mocking me with his uncanny ability to sound like anyone and anything. I missed all of them. I wanted to hear Nudge talking 90 mph and have to make her shut-up, I wanted to feel Angel in my mind and tell her to get out. I wanted to argue with Total, I wanted to feel annoyed at how right Fang was and how irrational I was being. I wanted to fly beside them in the sky. Kick some eraser butt with them backing me up.

My knees gave and I sank to the canvas floor. I hadn't cried in forever. I didn't want to save myself, I wanted my flock to save me, let me be the damsel in distress this time, even if I didn't do the whole damsel thing very well.

I didn't want to always be the hero, I'm fourteen.

I need a hero too.

**Where have all the good men gone  
And where are all the gods?  
Where's the street-wise Hercules  
To fight the rising odds?  
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?  
Late at night I toss and turn and dream of what I need**

I began to sing the song to myself, softly. I couldn't sing worth crap, but I didn't care. I didn't even stop singing when the canvas fell around me, revealing the world outside my cage. I was in a huge field surrounded by woods as far as the eye could see.

My first thought was. Wow, their stupid. I looked longingly up at the sky.

_This is it Max, be careful what you think. He can read minds._ He? He who?

My question went unanswered until I heard another canvas drop. I looked over to my left and there HE was. Blond hair, blue eyes, pale, tall with something definitely feline about him. He winked at me and I flipped him the bird.(No pun intended.)

Three men in, surprise surprise, white coats got out of a black suburban and came to stand between mine and Blondie's cages.

"Max, you should feel privileged." The one in the middle spoke up, scribbling something on his clipboard.

"Why? Taking me to a fashion show? New line of lab coats for you trendy scientist?" I shot back, crossing my arms over my chest.

"As you can see, Asper, she's sharp tongued and quick witted. She's also the fastest and strongest creation we've ever had other than you. She's the ultimate, she's-" A second scientist was talking to the other caged being. I interrupted.

"I can introduce myself if I feel it necessary." I turned from the red-faced scientist to the boy. "Asper. Is that short for something?" I asked, conversationally. I nearly giggled when I thought of what Nudge would have said in this situation:'Asper. Is that short for Asprin? 'Cause you're gonna need some when we get finished with you.' Ah, I missed my flock so much. Kinda wish they'd hurry up.

"It's short for Asperial Leopardin." The boy replied calmly. I couldn't help but laugh. I placed a fisted hand over my heart and put the other on my hip, sticking my nose in the air and narrowing my eyes.

"I am Asperial Leopardin." I exclaimed, parading around my cage like an idiot. Dear Asper didn't appreciate my making fun of his name, he growled.

"What about your name? What is Max short for?" He smirked at me, "Maxzilla? You look like one." 

"Ooh, good one." I shot back, "I'm guessing they didn't put the smart remark part of your brain in that big head of yours."

"That is enough Ms. Ride!" The scientist in the middle yelled testily. I made a hissing noise at him and kicked at the bars. All three scientist jumped back, causing me to laugh again. I was feeling hyper with adrenaline pumping into my veins. I had the urge to scream and rip some unfortunate eraser limb from limb.

Note to self: Find a way to stop murderous intent...okay, that's impossible around these white coated idiots.

"It seems like she is ready. Should we let them out?" The third scientist, the bald one, said turning to his compadres.

"Oh yeah, let the birdie out. I'm coming after you first baldy." I smiled crazily and pointed at him, giggling fiercely. What was wrong with me? I was like Nudge on twenty bars of chocolate.

"Max, you are going to help us test our new creation, Asper. He is half leopard. We want to test his ability to hunt combined with his ability to read minds. So of course we had to have the strongest, fastest, smartest prey available, and that was you." The first scientist smiled sweetly at me.

"What? Did you think flattery would get me to agree to this?" I asked incredulously.

"No, you see Max, you don't have a choice. Once we let him have your scent, his feline instincts will think 'bird' and automatically, he'll start tracking you, hunting you." The second scientist explained.

"Oh, well that puts a damper on the whole situation." I frowned, and shook out my arms, which were getting tingly and restless from not moving as much as they'd like. I watched curiously as the second scientist handed Asper a piece of cloth that apparently had my scent on it. He sniffed it and instantly a change came over him. The some-what friendly smile left his face and was replaced by a wicked sneer. The innocent look in his eyes was changed to a malicious gleam. He opened his mouth and roared, Loudly. I had to cover my sensitive ears to keep the old eardrums from bursting. Our darling friend Asper began rattling his cage and snapping his jaws in my direction, a wild look in his eyes. He was ready to hunt.

"Uh, you better give the prey a really good head start." I said, looking up at the sky. This was looking bleak, and I still didn't understand what the voice meant by be careful what you think. Yeah he could read minds. So what, he couldn't read sporadic thoughts like mine, not even I could keep up with my thoughts.

"Alright, time to run Max. Show us what you've got. The test ends when one of you comes back carrying the other." The first scientist hit a button and an entire side of my cage sank into the ground.

Immediately I jumped four feet into the air and took off streaking for the cover of the woods, at about 190 mph. I didn't know how long it would take Asper to catch up to me but I was figuring I didn't have long. The woods seemed to get farther and farther away, but it was just that I was in a hurry and wanted them to get there faster than they were coming. I could see the leaves now, the different trunks, limbs, a birds nest on one tree and SMACK!

Dazed, I looked up at the trees from my seat on the grass. Ouch. There was no way I ran into a tree. I was aiming between them.

And then, all of a sudden, the trees didn't look real. After closer inspection I realized that these trees were painted on a wall. Apparently, by the sound, a metal wall. I was sitting in a big box with a deadly leapord-human cross. The chorus to the song that I was singing earlier popped into my head.

**I need a hero  
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night  
He's gotta be strong  
And he's gotta be fast  
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight  
I need a hero  
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light  
He's gotta be sure  
And it's gotta be soon  
And he's gotta be larger than life **

Oh how the truth in those words rang in my ears. I could only think of one guy that fit this song, but there was no way I'd ever tell him.

The soft pad of paws in the tall grass brought me from my thoughts faster than Nudge on sugar. Seven feet away and creeping forward, I didn't have time to figure out what direction.

Leaping into the air, I followed the curve of the wall till I was flying upside down, then I turned over to look down at Asper. He looked hideous, something out of a nightmare...oh wait, he is. One of MY nightmares. His skin had become more yellow, and I could see black spots all over it. The teeth in his jaws seemed to be stretching them to the breaking point. Long metallic-looking claws extended from his fingers where his nails should be and a whip-like tail protruded from behind him. Along with all of this he was on all fours and his legs were shaped like the hind legs of a leopard. Claws extended a short distance from his toes too. He was bare except for what was left of a pair of jeans.

"Wow. Someone beat you with the ugly stick when you were growing up." Another note to self: Keep big mouth shut when faced with death. It tends to help if you don't goad the death-bringer.

A snarl and another loud roar was all that I received in ways of a comeback. He jumped up at me and I flattened myself against the wall. He had swiped the air five inches from my stomach, and I was at least thirty feet in the air. Time to find out just how tall this place was. I shot forward, always staying at least three inches away from the metal dome. When I reached the spot above our now-empty cages I turned to look above me. I could see where about eighteen metal triangles came to meet each other in the center.

I began to imagine Fang and the flock on the other side of this big dome trying to find a way in just as I was trying to find a way out.

**Somewhere after midnight  
In my wildest fantasy  
Somewhere just beyond my reach  
There's someone reaching back for me  
Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat  
It's gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet**

Superman huh? I needed a superman right about now. He could punch through the wall and let me out, or blast it with his laser vision. Or he could just take out leopard boy while I took care of the scientists and THEN I could get out of here.

**I need a hero  
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night  
He's gotta be strong  
And he's gotta be fast  
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight  
I need a hero  
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light  
He's gotta be sure  
And it's gotta be soon  
And he's gotta be larger than life **

That's it! The scientists would have the way to get out of here. I raced toward the ground only to pull up short and speed back up to the ceiling when Asper came bounding out of nowhere snapping his jaws at me. It was as if he had read my mind and knew what it was I was going to do. Oh...right. He could read minds. Hmm...Time to test something.

_Pretty pink ponies dance along the floor until they reach the pretty ladies. Then the pretty ladies set them free and the pretty pink ponies knock out the guard _dog. I thought this over and over in my head, and let me tell you, it was torture, but the look on cat boy's face was worth it. He was confused. He was waiting for me to decide what I was going to do. What he didn't know was this was my plan. I was the pretty pink ponies, the pretty ladies were the scientists, and the guard dog was him. I didn't think this in my head of course, because then he would've been on to me.

Instead I thought a fake plan to myself,_ Back to the wall_! And flew off in a random direction. Now I just had to lose him and get back to the pretty ladies. I kicked it up to turbo flight and nearly hit the wall. It wasn't as far away as I had thought.

Around and around the dome we went. He was fast and I just couldn't shake him for anything. Maybe if I fly long enough he'll just keel over from exhaustion, but that seemed highly unlikely. I, however, would tire soon. I'd never flown this fast for this long and I wasn't sure how long I'd hold out.

**Up where the mountains meet the heavens above  
Out where the lightning splits the sea  
I would swear that there's someone somewhere  
Watching me **

"Take her down!" A voice shouted from the direction of center of this dang dome, and I hoped to goodness they weren't thinking of shooting me down.

Unfortunately, the goodness wasn't listening to my hopes today, because there was a red dot on my wing. I stopped, turned around and began to fly around crazily like a wild bird in a cage, which was exactly what I was. I was doing loops and twirls and zig-zags and everything I could think of and I wished there was some sun in here, I'd put it in the shooter's eyes, but there wasn't, so I couldn't.

"Use one of your explosi-" I heard someone yell as I flew past a certain part of the dome. I turned around and headed back past it.

"-arry that much! I'm not a big guy you-" Iggy and Fang. I banged my fists against the wall.

"Wait, what was that? Total stop chewing so loudly." Nudge. Oh how sweet her voice sounded to me, "Hello?" If I could hear them, maybe they could hear me.

"Nudge? It's Max!" Nudge squealed.

"It's Max! Fang! Fang! I found Max! She's inside this...this...thing! We have to help her or they might do something to her and I don't want anyone to hurt her. Maybe this is all a trick. Are you sure you're Max? Are you a white coat or even..." She gasped dramatically, "Jeb! You could be Jeb! I bet i-" She was cut off by a deep voice that I could never mistake if I tried.

"Max! Are you okay?" I took a moment to secretly melt before I replied.

"Yeah, for now. I've got a leopard-human cross named Asper out for my blood and a gunman with a gun trained on me, though." I looked back over my shoulder to see the gunman searching for me and Asper sniffing around and finding my scent everywhere.

"Any doors in or out?" Iggy asked. If there was a door he could get it open.

"Nope, sorry, but at the very top in the center is where the eight triangles that make up this thing meet. That's also right above the gunman though." I put my hand flat against the wall as if I could reach through and touch them, my family, on the other side.

"We're on the way. If we don't break through in five minutes then come back to this spot." Fang was handling this so much better than I was. I could feel the tears coming, and was tempted to fly underneath them all the way up to the top, but I couldn't. Asper was getting too close for comfort and the gunman was narrowing down my whereabouts.

"Here birdie, birdie, birdie." I heard Asper call. His voice had a metallic rasp to it. I figured it was from the huge fangs in his face, but I wasn't going to ask him about it. My wings were sore and I couldn't fly anyway, if I got off of the ground the gunman would spot me and shoot, and I didn't need any gun wounds. So I took the only option left. I ran along the edge of the dome.

If there hadn't been the occasional reminder of the scientists and Asper, it could've been just a nice easy run in the sun for me. It wasn't to be though. Even though Asper was on the other side of the dome I felt like I was running for my life. I realized barely soon enough that if I didn't stop I'd run into Asper, and sank into the grass to watch his hideous back sway back and forth as he searched around for me.

"I smell you." He stood up on his...hind legs, and raised his nose into the air, taking a deep breath. I glanced up at the top of the dome. Nothing, and I couldn't get back to the spot where the flock would go back to. Crap.

**I need a hero  
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night  
He's gotta be strong  
And he's gotta be fast  
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight  
I need a hero  
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light  
He's gotta be sure  
And it's gotta be soon  
And he's gotta be larger than life **

"Found you." The sinister whisper brought my eyes down from the painted sky to the huge deformed figure standing before me. Curse words flew through my mind. I had let my guard down and now I was in for it.

Asper lunged for me and I rolled to the side, but he was fast. His tail caught me across my cheek and I was left spitting blood. I jumped to my feet and slammed a foot into his chest, sending him back a few feet. He didn't hesitate in getting back up and running at me with his gleaming claws and teeth. We danced the beautiful dance of two combatants until his claws sank into my side and I screamed and lost my balance.

Blood was pouring out of my side, soaking my t-shirt and dripping onto the grass beneath me. Asper loomed over me and sank slowly to all-fours, pinning my to the ground. I glanced up at the center of the dome again, feeling a lump in my throat. At least they weren't here to see it.

Asper raised his clawed hand and I squeezed my eyes shut tight. If it was gonna happen I didn't want to witness it.

So of course I didn't notice the dark figure that knocked Asper off of me, or the four other figures that gathered around me.

"Max?" Angel whispered. My eyes flew open and I tried to sit up to hug her, but I couldn't, my side hurt too bad. I settled with stroking her cheek.

"Hey sweetie." I croaked out.

"Whoa. Max, you're losing blood fast. Someone give me an extra shirt or something." Iggy was all business, and though he was touching the wounds I didn't feel it. I was preoccupied with Fang and Asper.

There was a lot of dust, snarls, and clashing metal coming from where they were fighting. I caught a glimpse of Fang's face. He looked murderous, and he never showed any emotion, which meant that he was far gone. I wasn't even sure Angel's mind control could stop him.

I heard a yelp of pain and it wasn't from Asper.

"No!"Was all I could manage to croak out.

"Max! Quit moving around so much! Fang will be fine." Iggy was getting irritated at me struggling to stand up, "Here...sit up. That's fi-" As soon as Iggy sat me up I whipped out my wings and lifted myself into the air.

The pain from the muscles in my side brought tears to my eyes but pain is just a message. I flapped my wings weakly to keep myself aloft and managed, somehow, to make it over to where Fang and Asper were still going at it.

All pain was forgotten as I watched the tip of Asper's claws barely graze Fang's face. I shot down like a bullet out of a gun and barreled into Asper, catching him off guard and causing my side to bleed faster. Asper slid on his back for several feet and I staggered a bit, using my wings to keep myself upright.

**Through the wind and the chill and the rain  
And the storm and the flood  
I can feel his approach  
Like the fire in my blood **

I felt Fang behind me before I actually realized that he was behind me, and then my superman swept me off of my feet and took to the skies. He flew through what looked a lot like a hole made by an explosive in the top of the dome and it felt wonderful to feel the wind on my face, until I noticed both my blood and his blood soaking through his shirt.

"You're bleeding." I accused. My arms were wrapped around his neck and he had me cradled against his chest so I was looking up at his face. He glanced down at me briefly and flashed me a quick smile. I couldn't help but feel better.

"You are too." Was all he said in return.

**I need a hero  
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night  
He's gotta be strong  
And he's gotta be fast  
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight  
I need a hero  
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light  
He's gotta be sure  
And it's gotta be soon  
And he's gotta be larger than life**

I sang the chorus one last time in my mind and thought, not anymore. I don't have to wait for my hero anymore, he's right here with me. And I'll never let him go.

"Max? You okay?" Fang looked at me, worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" I closed my eyes and pressed my face into his shoulder.

"You're crying."

"...Am not!"

"Yes, you are."

I sighed, "I'm crying because I'm happy."

**Yay! So there's the beautiful story...though it's much longer than I thought it would be. I hope you like it and the song is Holding Out For A Hero by Frou Frou. I love that song. So yeah. I'm out!  
**


End file.
